LWCE-402 L#06 (A)

Faculty of Agricultural Engineering &
Technology
Department of Land & Water

Conservation Engineering
Soil Mechanics
LWCE-402
Permeability
& Seepage
Lecture Outline
Permeability & Seepage
Definition,
Hydraulic Gradient,
Darcy’s Law,
Factors affecting Permeability,
Permeability of stratified soils,
Laboratory and Field determination of coefficient of
Permeability,
Seepage Force,
Permeability & Seepage
Permeability
Permeability is property of any material, ease with which fluid can
flow through it.
Permeability is properties of material to allow fluids to pass
through it. Soil permeability is the property of the soil to transmit
water and air.
Seepage
Seepage is the process by which a liquid leaks through a porous
substance.
In soil mechanics seepage is movement of water in soils. Seepage
depends on several factors, including permeability of the soil and
the pressure gradient, essentially the combination of forces acting
on water through gravity and other factors.
Hydraulic Gradient
The hydraulic gradient is a vector gradient between two or more
hydraulic head measurements over the length of the flow path. For
groundwater, it is also called the 'Darcy slope', since it determines
the quantity of a Darcy flux or discharge. It also has applications in
open-channel flow where it can be used to determine whether a
reach is gaining or losing energy. A dimensionless hydraulic gradient
can be calculated between two points with known head values as
Darcy’s Law
In 1856, Darcy showed experimentally that a fluid’s velocity of flow
through a porous medium was directly related to the hydraulic gradient
causing the flow, i.e.
v∝i
Where i = hydraulic gradient (the head loss per unit length), or
v = Ci
Where C = a constant involving the properties of both the fluid and the
porous material.
vd = ki
q = vdA = kiA
where q is the flow rate, A the cross-sectional area of soil,
k, the coefficient of permeability, i the hydraulic gradient and vd the
discharge velocity.
The units of the coefficient of permeability are those of velocity (m/s).
Factors affecting coefficient of permeability
The coefficient of permeability depends on several factors,
➢ Shape and size of the soil particles.
➢ Void ratio. Permeability increases with increase in void ratio.
➢ Degree of saturation. Permeability increases with increase in degree
of saturation.
➢ Composition of soil particles. For sands and silts this is not
important; however, for soils with clay minerals this is one of the
most important factors. Permeability depends on the thickness of
water held to the soil particles, which is a function of the cation
exchange capacity, valence of the cations, and so forth.
➢ Soil structure. Fine-grained soils with a flocculated structure have a
higher coefficient of permeability than those with a dispersed
structure.
➢ Viscosity of the water.
➢ Density and concentration of the water.
Permeability of Stratified Soil
When subsoil in filed consists of a number of strata which have
different permeabilities, calculation of seepage through such a stratified
deposit requires the computation of average values of k applicable for
the whole deposit.There are two such average values;
➢ The average horizontal coefficient of permeability, kH when the
flow is parallel to the strata and
➢ The average vertical coefficient of permeability, kv when the flow
is normal to the strata.
Flow Parallel to the Layers
The figure shows horizontal layers of soil with flow parallel to the
layers. Following the figure, an equation is developed to calculate
the equivalent permeability for flow parallel to the layers.
Flow Perpendicular to the Layers
The figure shows horizontal layers of soil with flow perpendicular
to the layers. Following the figure, an equation is developed to
calculate the equivalent permeability for flow perpendicular to the
layers.
TABLE # 01
Soil permeability classes for agriculture and conservation
Soil permeability classes Permeability rates1

cm/hour cm/day
Very slow Less than 0.13 Less than 3
low 0.13 - 0.3 3 - 12
Moderately slow 0.5 - 2.0 12 - 48
Moderate 2.0 - 6.3 48 - 151
Moderately rapid 6.3 - 12.7 151 - 305
Rapid 12.7 - 25 305 - 600
Very rapid More than 25 More than 600
TABLE 02
Soil permeability classes for engineering
Soil permeability classes Coefficient of permeability (K in m/s)

Lower limit Upper limit
Permeable 2 x 10-7 2 x 10-1
Semi-permeable 1 x 10-11 1 x 10-5
Impermeable 1 x 10-11 5 x 10-7
Seepage Force (J):
When water is seeping through the pores of a soil, total head is dissipated as
viscous friction producing a frictional drag, acting in the direction of flow, on
the solid particles.
A transfer of energy thus takes place from the water to the solid particles, and
the force corresponding to this energy transfer is called seepage force.
Seepage force acts on the particles of a soil in addition to gravitational force,
and the combination of the forces on a soil mass due to gravity and seeping
water is called the resultant body force. It is the resultant body force that
governs the effective normal stress on a plane within a soil mass through which
seepage is taking place.
Seepage force is frictional drag, acting in the direction of flow on the solid
particles during seepage. The seepage pressures are sometimes converted into
forces by multiply them by the total cross-sectional area of the soil sample. The
seepage force is applied by the flowing water to the soil skeleton through
frictional drag. In an isotropic soil, the seepage force always acts in the
direction of flow.
Seepage Force (J):
Seepage force is usually expressed as force per unit volume of soil.
Thus,
Seepage force per unit volume of soil mass
Flow of water through a soil mass results in some force being exerted
on the soil itself. To evaluate the seepage force per unit volume of soil,
consider a soil mass bounded by two flow lines ab and cd and two
equipotential lines ef and gh, as shown in Figure 5.39. The soil mass
has unit thickness at right angles to the section shown. The self-weight
of the soil mass
To evaluate the seepage force per unit volume of soil, consider a soil mass
bounded by two flow lines ab and cd and two equipotential lines ef and gh, as
shown in Figure 5.39. The soil mass has unit thickness at right angles to the
section shown. The self-weight of the soil mass (length)(width)(thickness) ϒsat
= (L)(L)(1) ϒsat = L2ϒsat. The hydrostatic force on the side ef of the soil mass is
(pressure head)(L)(1) = h1ϒw L. The hydrostatic force on the side gh of the soil
mass is h2Lϒw. For equilibrium,

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Faculty of Agricultural Engineering &

Department of Land & Water

Soil permeability classes Permeability rates1

Soil permeability classes Coefficient of permeability (K in m/s)

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